Notable Quotables - 06/17/1996

Published: 6/17/1996 1:00 AM ET

Stand for the Status Quo

Joan Lunden: "But it seems like there's more money being spent for the
environment, or for the gun lobby, there are a lot of different groups
together, not always in agreement. The federal government's talking about
turning over a lot of the social programs to the states. What kind of
programs, what do you think is the best way to approach this?"Marian
Wright Edelman, President of the Children's Defense Fund and organizer of the
Stand for Children march: "Well the first thing is we've got to make a
commitment and that's why...
Lunden, simultaneously: "Yeah, yeah."
Edelman: "...I've never seen 3500 groups come together across race and
class to say we will no longer tolerate the neglect and abandonment of our
children or the massive budget cuts or the dismantlement of safety net. We
will not permit it...."
Lunden: "Gotta get the message out there and get people to rally around
one of our most important problems."
- Exchange on Good Morning America, May 30.

"You've got a spectacular
weather day down there. It sounds like the activities are going to be
wonderful, but how then do you hope to translate today's symbolism into some
real, positive action?" "...All right, Jonah Edelman, thanks for
spending some time with us this morning, and good luck to you today on the
session. Sounds like it'll be a lot of fun and very helpful."
- NBC Today co-host Jack Ford to Stand for Children organizer Jonah
Edelman, June 1.

"There was a `Stand for
Children' march in Washington today, joining people from all over the country
who care about kids. But politically inspired right-wingers have assailed this
gathering as a radical group, intent on expanding the role of government. In
fact, the group includes the Girl Scouts, the American Academy of
Pediatricians, and the Junior League. Only the self-centered, loony right wing
would consider groups like this, in support for disadvantaged kids, as
radical."
- Wall Street Journal Executive Washington Editor Al Hunt's "Outrage of
the Week," June 1 Capital Gang.

Bibi's Got a Gun

"At his final campaign
appearance tonight, Prime Minister Shimon Peres was every inch the elder
statesman, 72 years of experience. `Trust me.' That's his message to Israelis.
While across town today, his 46-year-old opponent, young and handsome, has
American politician written all over his campaign. That's thanks to an
American political consultant, who has advised conservatives like Senator Al
D'Amato and Jesse Helms. The consultant told [Benjamin "Bibi"]
Netanyahu to stick to one simple, negative theme: Fear."
- NBC reporter Martin Fletcher, May 27 Nightly News.

"What we were all talking about
yesterday was whether terrorism wins. We had a situation where the peace
process seemed to be going along well in Israel. Then an assassin kills Prime
Minister Rabin. Then there are bus bombings, well publicized, many, many
people dead in Israel. And there is so much talk of fear in the election, and
the candidate talking the most about it, Benjamin Netanyahu, gets elected. The
question is, does terrorism work?"- Good Morning America
co-host Charlie Gibson to "The God Squad" (Rabbi Marc Gellman and
Monsignor Thomas Hartman), May 31.

"Let's talk about his words for
a second. Because it's not that many months ago that a lot of people were
accusing Bibi Netanyahu of fanning the flames of the Israeli right, of setting
the rhetorical tone for Rabin's assassination."
- CBS This Morning co-host Harry Smith to CBS News consultant Fouad
Ajami, May 31. 20

That Old Cliche: Bias Is in the Copy
of the Anchor

"You know the old cliche that
we've all used over the years is that bias, like beauty, is in the eye of the
beholder, and we're out there on the cutting edge of change on a daily basis.
That's what news is all about. That's the essence of news....The people, by
and large, who are the recipients of that news, kind of like the status quo
for the most part. They're comfortable. They've learned to deal with it and
they don't want to adapt to the change. Therefore they have to learn to blame
someone in some regard and they think therefore since we brought them the news
of the change that somehow we are biased of favor of the change or biased in
favor of what it is that we're reporting....I think the fact that we're still
standing, this day, 35 years after we...entered this business, is some,
immodestly, some small tribute the fact that we've worked very hard to drain
the bias out of what we do."
- Tom Brokaw at the National Press Club, June 11.

Reality Check:"Today, GOP congressional candidates were summoned to Washington and
given a battle plan. However, as NBC's Lisa Myers tells us tonight, it is long
on promises and short on sound premises."
- Brokaw the night the Contract with America was unveiled, September 27, 1994
NBC Nightly News.

If Only We Had Made Government Even
Bigger

"Tim, curious. Would we still be
having this discussion if everyone hadn't attacked the President's health care
reform plan for political expediency about two years ago?"
- Bryant Gumbel to Tim Russert on a report showing Medicare will go broke a
year earlier than expected, June 5 Today.

Tacking Against Tax Cuts

"Often, his [Dole's]
condemnation of supply-side tax cuts has reflected the austerity of his Dust
Bowl origins. Dole dutifully helped steer President Reagan's tax cuts through
Congress in 1981, but he spent the next several years trying to dam up the
river of federal red ink that was largely created by that deal."
- May 28 Washington Post news story by Clay Chandler.

"Ross Perot has said that,
repeatedly, that giving a tax cut now is like giving candy to the electorate
right before the election. Senator, you were in the Senate, and Mr. Forbes,
you were watching it very closely when Ronald Reagan was President for eight
years. Cut taxes, 25 percent. The deficit, with a Democratic Congress I should
add, went from 60 billion dollars when he took office to 200 billion dollars
when he left office. So we can cut taxes, but it seems to drive up the deficit
as well."
- Tim Russert to Steve Forbes and Senator Bill Bradley, May 26 Meet the
Press. Fiscal year 1989 deficit: $152.5 billion.

Cue The Battle Hymn of the
Republic...

"How can anyone argue that Bill
Clinton has not been a good President? Business should love him. The country
has been in a controlled boom since he bludgeoned through by one vote his
first economic package....Workers should love him. There are more jobs than
ever....Minorities should love him. He has a terrific record of appointing
women and minorities to judgeships and high federal posts. He has put civil
rights back on the table after 12 years of Republican neglect.... "No, it
makes you wonder what the President and his wife could have accomplished these
four years if they had not been consumed by these scandals, these lawsuits and
these clippings. By almost any measure, the past four years have been
spectacular for many Americans. Still, if Bill Clinton had been a full-time
President, if Hillary Clinton had been a full-time First Lady... "Would
the poor be a little richer? Would the old be a little healthier? Would the
young be a little smarter? Would the nation be a little more prosperous? Would
the world be a little less troubled? You wonder. And you wonder if he
wonders."
- Former NBC News President Michael Gartner, June 11 USA Today.

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